Jennifer Garner, InStyle's October cover girl, is many things: an actress (up next is Disney’s adaptation of the children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, in theaters October 10); an activist (along with Halle Berry, she successfully campaigned Congress for an anti-paparazzi bill); and—her most treasured role—a mom (to daughters Violet, 8, and Seraphina, 5, as well as son Samuel, 2, with husband of nine years Ben Affleck).

She is also impeccably gorgeous in the pages of the October issue, available on newsstands and for digital download September 19. Swathed in rich textures and layers by Burberry Prorsum, Stella McCartney, and Michael Kors, Garner was perched atop a cliff in Big Sur, Calif., a location that's one of the 42-year-old's favorite places because "it's dramatic, and foggy, and moody...and here you can really convince yourself that it's fall."

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

Hi, I'm Jennifer Gardner and welcome to my InStyle shoot. [MUSIC] It is so cool that we are shooting this here in Big Sur, California which is one of my favorite places in the whole world, and you can see why. It's just dramatic and it's foggy and moody. And considering that it's a hot day in July everywhere else in the country, here, you can really convince yourself that's it's fall, and [UNKNOWN], and mystical and it just. All being on location together really added to the sense of adventure. Dress for the shoot. I think my favorite look for the day, I like this. This was one of our cover options. I like how layered they are. I like how there's a belt involved and a blanket involved. For all the moms out there, there is one secret to the workout routine and that is. So depressing. Consistency. And for me that means 5:30 in the morning, cuz I have to do it and be done in time to pack lunches and get everyone up. It's a big circuit of cardio and weights. Kind of the cardio is built into the circuit so that. It's not like 45 minutes on a stair master like we all used to do in college. It's just not practical anymore and you need muscle to help just keep your metabolism up but Valerie Waters has been training me for 15 years. My makeup bag usually has this little pot of concealer and a proper brush for it [MUSIC] Cause the brushes are kind of key and nobody really tells you. They're all selling you the little makeup but they forget that you actually need the right brush. And lip stuff and my favorite thing would be this Neutrogena moisture stick. And I use it in a pinch for everything. Lips. Cheek, whatever. [MUSIC]